Christopher Jessup is an Australian lawyer who serves as Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security. Between 2006 and 2017, he was a judge of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

Early life

Jessup was born in

Melbourne, Victoria Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung–Taungurung language, Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the St ...

. He attended Malvern Memorial Grammar School and

Scotch College, Melbourne (For God, for Country, and for Learning) , established = , type = Independent, day and boarding , gender = Boys , denomination = Presbyterian , slogan = , ...

. He graduated from

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

with a

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...

with honours in 1968 and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

with honours in 1970. He finished equal-first in his graduating year and shared the Supreme Court Prize with Justice Mark Weinberg of the Federal Court and later the

Victorian Court of Appeal The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court comprise ...

Career

Jessup completed his

articles of clerkship Articled clerk is a title used in Commonwealth countries for one who is studying to be an accountant or a lawyer. In doing so, they are put under the supervision of someone already in the profession, now usually for two years, but previously three ...

with Stephen Alley, who later became a judge on the

Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), known from 1956 to 1973 as the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and from 1973 to 1988 as the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, was a tribunal with powers ...

, in the firm Moule, Hamilton and Derham. In 1974, Jessup completed a PhD at the

London School of Economics and Political Science , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, where his thesis focused on the operation of industrial relations law on trade unions in the United Kingdom and Australia. In 1975, Jessup commenced practice as a barrister at the

Victorian Bar The Victorian Bar is the bar association of the Australian State of Victoria. The current President of the Bar is Roisin Annesley KC. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 30 June 2020, there were 2,179 counsels ...

, specialising in employment law and industrial relations. Jessup was appointed to the

in 2006. He retired in 2017 and returned to practice as a barrister. In 2019, the Family Court of Australia announced that it appointed Jessup to oversee the development of unified family law processes, including the functioning of the Family Court and case management. In December 2020, the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

announced the appointment of Jessup as Acting Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, to take effect from 18 January 2021. On 4 February 2021 his appointment was confirmed in the role for a five year term.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jessup, Christopher Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Lawyers from Melbourne Monash Law School alumni